You might want to read KISS principle - Wikipedia 
lol
Good job i’m an Aircraft Engineer then
[quote=“B0SST0N, post:18, topic:165735”]Why bother modifying an appliance module…? Just buy one of these and wire it to the contacts on the garage door motor where the wall button connects. Thats what I did… works like a charm. ~ 30$
ACT ZRF113 - Z-Wave Relay Fixture Module
Oh and dont forget to buy an HRDS1 and a garage door contact sensor to wire to the external input of the HRDS1. This will allow you to receive alerts when the door opens and closes (I would recommend this in case of intrusion or vera decides to malfunction and open your garage door).
Here are my recommendations:
http://www.asihome.com/ASIshop/product_info.php?products_id=3960
http://smarthome-products.com/p-951-hrds1-wireless-doorwindow-sensor.aspx
http://www.smarthome.com/7455/Garage-Door-Contacts-for-Closed-Circuits-SM-226L/p.aspx
I got the above products… went to home depot and bought a small waterproof plastic enclosure for electrical boxes and a “replacement power tool power cord”… the electrical box needs to be big enough to fit the relay in and the replacement power cord is just a grounded 3 pronged plug and bare wires on the other end.
I drilled a hole in the plastic electrical box to feed the grounded power wire into it. Wired the closed contacts from the relay into the same terminals as the wall push button. Then I closed up the whole enclosure and mounted it above the garage door motor and plugged it into the same power outlet as the garage door motor (mounted in ceiling usually). Trip the relay for 5 or 10 seconds with vera as a scene and your garage door opens or closes. In the unlikely event that the relay gets stuck closed I believe the remotes still work.
BTW… I tried to use the HRDS1 with the factory magnetic contact it comes with for awhile but it is not suited well for garage doors. The clearances were too close between the door and the track the door is on so the magnetic contact eventually hit the track and broke. I would recommend buying the above contacts and wiring them to the external terminals on the HRDS1 to start. You will be saving yourself some headaches and its only ~ 10$…
Some pictures attached… the red wire coming out of the box is an extension of the zwave antenna wire that comes off of the zwave relay… the blue wires are the contact wires that are wired to the wall button terminals on the motor.[/quote]
Great idea. Do you have a picture of how you wired the external terminals on the HRDS1?
Thanks!
Why are those door sensors still so expensive, I was surprised to see that it cost more than the relay module?
I found a printed diagram of the schematic for a circuit to add-on to an appliance module in order to get momentary contact. I might end up having to scan it as I can’t find the original anymore on the web. It might take some basic soldering skills, but you wouldn’t have to mod the module and says it can be made for around $10.
[quote=“B0SST0N, post:18, topic:165735”]Why bother modifying an appliance module…? Just buy one of these and wire it to the contacts on the garage door motor where the wall button connects. Thats what I did… works like a charm. ~ 30$
ACT ZRF113 - Z-Wave Relay Fixture Module
Oh and dont forget to buy an HRDS1 and a garage door contact sensor to wire to the external input of the HRDS1. This will allow you to receive alerts when the door opens and closes (I would recommend this in case of intrusion or vera decides to malfunction and open your garage door).
Here are my recommendations:
http://www.asihome.com/ASIshop/product_info.php?products_id=3960
http://smarthome-products.com/p-951-hrds1-wireless-doorwindow-sensor.aspx
http://www.smarthome.com/7455/Garage-Door-Contacts-for-Closed-Circuits-SM-226L/p.aspx
I got the above products… went to home depot and bought a small waterproof plastic enclosure for electrical boxes and a “replacement power tool power cord”… the electrical box needs to be big enough to fit the relay in and the replacement power cord is just a grounded 3 pronged plug and bare wires on the other end.
I drilled a hole in the plastic electrical box to feed the grounded power wire into it. Wired the closed contacts from the relay into the same terminals as the wall push button. Then I closed up the whole enclosure and mounted it above the garage door motor and plugged it into the same power outlet as the garage door motor (mounted in ceiling usually). Trip the relay for 5 or 10 seconds with vera as a scene and your garage door opens or closes. In the unlikely event that the relay gets stuck closed I believe the remotes still work.
BTW… I tried to use the HRDS1 with the factory magnetic contact it comes with for awhile but it is not suited well for garage doors. The clearances were too close between the door and the track the door is on so the magnetic contact eventually hit the track and broke. I would recommend buying the above contacts and wiring them to the external terminals on the HRDS1 to start. You will be saving yourself some headaches and its only ~ 10$…
Some pictures attached… the red wire coming out of the box is an extension of the zwave antenna wire that comes off of the zwave relay… the blue wires are the contact wires that are wired to the wall button terminals on the motor.[/quote]
So I have a Liftmaster 3800 being controlled by one of their 98LM wall consoles. I can (and will) try some experiments with this thing, but I am not confident that simply closing a circuit between the two wires that go to the console is all I need to do…the console does motion sensing, can lockout remotes, etc. This would seem to imply something a little less brute-force than simply making momentary closure of the wires to the drive motor. But I can hope, right?
–Richard
OK, I finally found the post over at ZwaveWorld that had the .pdf diagram I was talking about.
After reading the post again, I’m not sure if it would be much different as it still needs an off command any time before another momentary on command is needed.
http://zwaveworld.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=456&pid=2516&mode=threaded&start=#entry2516
Sorry for the delay in response, just got back from EHX. I have a request in with WD regarding the status of the GDO with the ability to open/close via Z-Wave.
Thanks,
Has anyone used the z-wave add-on universal module as shown in Frank Polimene’s pdf?
If so, can you post a photo or explain how the three leads from the 12 v relay are connected to the garage door opener?
Thank you.
Bosston - you said that you extended the antenna of the relay. Did you do any tests before and after you extended the antenna to see how extending the antenna helped? The reason I’m asking is because I plan on using the relay to control a chandelier which does not have a switch (the chandelier replaced a ceiling fan that was controlled by a pull string). So, I plan on putting the relay inside the canopy, which is made out of metal (I’m replacing the original chandelier’s canopy with a larger fan canopy that is big enough for the relay, and the canopy is metal - has to match rest of chandelier). So, wondering how much extending the relay’s antenna helps.
Also, I assume the red wire coming out of the relay is the antenna, right? The instructions don’t actually say that it is an antenna.
Thanks.
[quote=“strangely, post:4, topic:165735”]This is next on my list of things to buy and do! I already have the sensor so i have half of whats required. If i’m brave and get the time, then i might modify an appliance module to do the same thing as in this post:
I have some spare modules so if i can work out which trace to cut then its a cheap solution.[/quote]
This is a great idea. I was thinking about an additional 120v relay. I like this idea even better. I recieved an email from zwaveproducts.com that you can get 60% off for July 4 special. This brings HomeSettings Appliance module down to $7.20. I just ordered their 6 pack for $51 including shipping!!! I ordered vera 2 and modules from them before. I never had a problem.
@drdatat, where did you apply for the 4th of July savings. is there code or option that I’m missing? thanxs in advance Mike
So I had started on this way back when. Got held up because the relays were back-ordered forever. But I got it done a while back, and meant to post photos. We have three single-doors on our garage. Putting the relays at the control buttons made a lot more sense than having them spread all over. The relay “contact” wires are soldered to jacks inside the box, and the male jack wires are connected to the lugs on the door controls. This gives me a quick way to disable Z-wave control of one or more doors in a hurry. Or to take the whole mess down if I (groan) get to solder on it some more.
The door sensors are simply SM103s with mercury tilt-switches.
–Richard
Not only that, but they have a bundle on the site that includes a Vera 2, and a bunch of modules, normally $349, with the %60 off coupon code (“JULY4TH”), brings it down to $150.85 (including $10.86 for shipping). I am thinking about getting a 2nd Vera for that price (also comes with 6 modules as well)
See below:
MI CASA VERDE VERA 2, 7 Piece KIT! KIT INCLUDES 1 MI CASA VERDE VERA 2, 2 ZWAVE LAMP MODULES, 2 ZWAVE OUTDOOR MODULES, 2 ZWAVE SCREW-IN MODULES!
http://www.zwaveproducts.com/HomeSettings-Zwave-Products/VERA-2-SEVEN-Piece-ZWAVE-KIT.html
Mitch
@mitch672, many thanxs I ordered their 6 pack and two outside plugins. Mike
[quote=“randman, post:29, topic:165735”]Bosston - you said that you extended the antenna of the relay. Did you do any tests before and after you extended the antenna to see how extending the antenna helped? The reason I’m asking is because I plan on using the relay to control a chandelier which does not have a switch (the chandelier replaced a ceiling fan that was controlled by a pull string). So, I plan on putting the relay inside the canopy, which is made out of metal (I’m replacing the original chandelier’s canopy with a larger fan canopy that is big enough for the relay, and the canopy is metal - has to match rest of chandelier). So, wondering how much extending the relay’s antenna helps.
Also, I assume the red wire coming out of the relay is the antenna, right? The instructions don’t actually say that it is an antenna.
Thanks.[/quote]
Yes the red wire is the antenna being extended out of the box. No I didn’t run any tests but the module has been working great for quite awhile now… No communication errors whatsoever.
Michael, I tried to reply to your PM. I couldn’t find a way to do that. I also can’t download attachments. But I don’t see a way to contact the administrator either. UGH!
3 more posts and you will be able to send PM’s and much more as sr newbie…
Michael, I tried to reply to your PM. I couldn’t find a way to do that. I also can’t download attachments. But I don’t see a way to contact the administrator either. UGH![/quote]
@drdata, no problem… In the end I was able to get the savings code. I agree with you it sucks to be a noobie and don’t have all of the tools to communicate. Mike
JULY4TH says “code applied”, but no discount is applied. is it dead?
The 60% only applies to HomeSettings products. GE products get 25% off.